Pros net neutrality

When the FCC asked for public comment on its plan to end net neutrality last year, the docket was swarmed with millions of comments from bots. The fake comments used real identities and made it difficult for anyone perusing the system to find legitimate commenters trying to express their views. A new study from a Stanford researcher sheds some light on the issue. By analyzing more than 800,000 comments that were “semantic outliers” — comments that were unique and not obviously produced by some form of automation — the study found that commenters were overwhelmingly in favor of net neutrality. The study did not account for “real” comments that were filed through systems like forms, but it still provides a window into commenters’ opinions. When the researcher manually analyzed 1,000 of the comments, 99.7 percent were found to be against the FCC’s proposed repeal. The study also geotagged many of the unique comments and found the support … [Read more...] about Stanford study says almost every unique FCC comment was pro-net neutrality

California is closer than ever to restoring net neutrality. A bill to bring ease back into the hearts of California web surfers, SB-822, sailed through the state’s legislative bodies and is now heading to the governor’s desk for a signature. Jerry Brown, who is a Democrat, has not said whether he intends to sign the bill — but Brown rarely comments on legislation before it arrives at his desk. By state law, the governor has 30 days to act on the legislation. A bill enacting net neutrality protection would have important ramifications for the United States, since the U.S. Senate voted to reverse a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to kill national net neutrality rules set in place under the Obama administration. The Congressional Review Act seeks to overturn the December 2017 decision, but it still must go through the House of Representatives. Meanwhile, the FCC’s quest to “restore internet freedom” is still slated to go live in … [Read more...] about California’s pro-net neutrality bill awaits governor’s signature

Recap: Net neutrality refers to a set of 2015 rules that prevented ISPs from throttling user connections or blocking websites. The FCC under President Trump opted to roll back these rulings in a controversial December 14 vote. While Democrats attempt to kill the vote with the Congressional Review Act, Republican Congressman Mike Coffman has taken matters into his own hands. If you thought Democrats were the only ones fighting for net neutrality, Republican Congressman Mike Coffman is looking to prove you wrong now. Coffman on Tuesday published a press release outlining new pro-net neutrality legislation; a bill dubbed the "21st Century Internet Act." The bill seeks to "permanently codify" into law the four main tenants of net neutrality - no paid prioritization, no website blocking, no throttling, and federal oversight of "interconnection." The bill would also seek to create a "new title" for broadband, to take advantage of additional consumer protections detailed in 1934's … [Read more...] about Republican Congressman Mike Coffman introduces ’21st Century Internet Act’ pro-net neutrality bill

Video: Net neutrality is gone. Welcome to the biased net.If you expect the FCC to change its mind about net neutrality, think again. Today, in an FCC meeting, a leading pro-net neutrality commissioner, Mignon Clyburn, announced she was resigning.Her term expired in June 2017, but FCC rules allowed her to stay until the end of 2018. She could have applied for another five-year term, but chose not to do so.Read also: VPN services 2018: The ultimate guide to protecting your data on the internet Clyburn, who had been appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2009, said, "I've done all I know to do. And it's time for me to serve in another way." She had tried her best to stop FCC chairman Ajit Pai, a former Verizon attorney, and his Republican FCC cronies, but she -- and all the many others who favored net neutrality -- failed to stop President Donald Trump's plans.In a recent CNET interview, Clyburn said Pai FCC's has given "the keys of the internet over to entities that answer … [Read more...] about ​Pro-net neutrality FCC commissioner resigns

If I asked you if you believed everyone should have equal access to water, electricity, and heat, you’d likely agree and say that this was a good idea. These are all essential components that we need to lead a healthy and fulfilling life, and as such, they’ve been deemed utilities by our government. Our world is one that’s becoming more and more Internet-dependent with each day that passes, and as such, you can easily make the argument that it falls into those same lines as water, electricity, and heat. This is something that the Federal Communications Commission agreed upon in 2015 when it officially ruled broadband Internet service as a utility in the United States, and this ruling was met with great applause and joy. With this ruling, Internet service providers (ISPs) cannot block or limit peoples’ access to online content and must maintain an equal playing field for all.This is the essential idea of what net neutrality is all about - providing everyone with … [Read more...] about Net neutrality isn’t the angel it’s made out to be